Monday, August 31, 2015

We were sent an X-Carve machine from Inventables to review. All thoughts and opinions are ours alone.Did you catch my first X-Carve post yesterday? My husband (with his YouTube channel) and me with my blog have teamed up to showcase the machine and give some project ideas to get you started if you find yourself wanting this machine too.

Today we are making a wooden sign for our little doggie.

First, Steve designed the file in Easel, the web-based design software that communicates with the X-Carve. In the program he is able to manipulate images, select material type and bit sizes, assign carving depths and more.

Friday, August 28, 2015

I know some of you have started school already, and some of you are like us, and still squeezing a few more days out of this wonderful summer. So that means I'm still posting Back to School stuff. I hope you'll like this one as a cute gift for teachers, friends with kids back in school, or maybe even your kids themselves!

Monday, August 24, 2015

As everyone is talking back to school, let's take just a minute to commiserate that "bleeding money" feeling that creeps in at this time of year. Between supplies, clothes, school and sports fees, and whatever else suddenly becomes a necessity, at least there's a way to take the sting out a little. What has been your most expensive back to school item?

Groupon.com has coupons from over 9,000 stores, including Walgreens coupons (great for preparing for the sickies that may come home from school) and Home Depot coupons which will be great for the paint storage shelves I'm planning to build).

So, before you head out on that next shopping trip, or start filling up your virtual cart, make sure you've checked groupon.com so you're not spending money you don't have to!And now I'm curious...do you do most of your back to school shopping in-store or online?

Saturday, August 15, 2015

A couple of weeks ago I found a whole bunch of flamingo outfits to share. My searching turned up all these irresistibly cute flamingo printables, flamingo decor and other ways to DIY flamingos into your life.

Thursday, August 13, 2015

I received a kit to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.Have you guys seen the new Crafternoon kits by Hazel & Ruby at your local Jo-Ann store yet? If not, you should definitely go check them out. I got a chance to try the shoe clip kit, designed by my friend Lindsay from the blog Frenchie.

I have a pair of plain black pumps that needed a bit of dressing up. The kit comes with all the supplies, plus I used my scissors and glue gun.I ironed all the ribbons first to take out any creases from the packaging.

Then, following the included directions card, I folded, layered and glued all the ribbons. I liked the look better when I fanned out the folds a little, instead of having them line up exactly with each other.

Totally cute and easy addition to my boring black shoes. And I made both clips in just half an hour, including ironing time! Would you or your girls love to whip these up in an afternoon?

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

It's been a while since I showed you a collection of Disney crafts and ideas, so I knew it was time to go searching again for some of the cutest Disney ideas out there. This list includes only new projects (within the last 6 months) so there's a good chance you haven't seen these Disney crafts yet. They just might be the perfect thing for your next Disney vacation, party, or crafty afternoon. Enjoy!

Disney Food

This post is sponsored by Everywhere Agency; however, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.Like it or not, it's Back to School time! While I love that we're still spending time going to the park, the river, the fair and doing nothing at all, I also love the excitement of new routines, new supplies, and new clothes.

This Saturday we're headed out to Macy's for their Back to School event. In addition to finding great deals for back to school, we'll get to make some princess and Star Wars crafts. We'll even pose for pictures in their themed booths! I think it's a great way to incorporate some fun family time into back to school prep.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #HealthySavings #CollectiveBias

A couple of years ago, my husband and our middle daughter were flying together. Her ears didn’t handle the air pressure change well and she ended up in tears from pain. Isn’t that the worst, to not be able to help them when they’re hurting? Personally, I've flown twice in the last 3 weeks. My ears were fine, but I had a sore shoulder (probably hurt it at the gym or something) that was made worse by the stiff position of the small airplane seats. We all would have been so much better if we'd had some Children's Advil, or ThermaCare wraps on hand. At Walgreens, it’s the perfect time to stock up and save on some of your healthy essentials for the end of summer. Whether you have a final summer road trip coming up, or you’re back into the school routine, there are tons of Pfizer products to help you out when you need it.

Monday, August 10, 2015

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BackToClean #CollectiveBias

{How to Speed Clean a Bathroom}

The back to school countdown is nearly on. We actually have a few weeks to go, so we're squeezing in violin camp and swim lessons still, plus a trip to the fair this week. But the wheels are already turning for the kinds of schedules I want to have in place for when school starts up again. I am wanting the kids to leave the bathroom clean every morning before they leave the house.

Friday, August 7, 2015

We've been so lucky to see so much family this summer, and the kids have loved seeing so many of their cousins! While we absolutely love living here in the Pacific Northwest, the one sad thing is that our kids can't play with their cousins very often.

Since I recently signed the #BICFightForYourWrite pledge (and at the same time entered to win $1,200 in prizes from BIC,) I wanted to come up with a fun way to encourage my kids to write more.

It's a colorful Pen Pal Kit! You can make one yourself in just about 15 minutes.

You'll need:Lined notebook paperEnvelopesBIC Mechanical Pencils (lots of variety to choose from: Xtra-Strong, Xtra-Sparkle, Xtra-Comfort, Xtra-life, and more)Washi tapePaper cutterStart by cutting the margins off of a few sheets of notebook paper. You want the final width to be just narrower than your envelopes (so they can fold up nicely, about 5.5 inches.)Add a strip of washi tape down one side of each paper, folding the ends over to the back. Then add a piece to each envelope as well.

Now my kids can keep in touch with cousins and practice their handwriting at the same time. I'm thinking we should make some more of these kits to send to our cousins so they can write too! Sure, there's email, but don't we all love getting real mail?With handwriting not really being taught in school anymore, opportunities to practice are mostly at home.

Check out the following 6 benefits, all results of practicing handwriting.

Improves cognitive development

Builds self-confidence

Betters school performance

Helps reading skills

Sparks creativity

Sharpens critical thinking skills

All perfect for back to school, right? And if that weren't enough, BIC is celebrating 30 years of helping kids reach their potential. On these upcoming dates, the BIC Pen Pals Facebook Page is running the Mechanical Pencil 30th Birthday Sweepstakes. August 16, August 28, September 10 (no purchase necessary, US only, 18+)

I hope I've inspired you to find a way to help your kids write more. Maybe it's with a Pen Pal kit like this, or by writing notes to each other, keeping a journal, or even writing stories. We can help them all fight for their write!

Do your kids have current Pen Pals, or did you? What do think some of the benefits are of writing?

Compensation was provided by BIC via MomTrends Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions of BIC or MomTrends Media.

DriveShop provided us with a vehicle during our stay in California. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #Kia #DriveKia

Last week, we got to have the ultimate test drive experience with the 2015 Kia Sedona SXL. Those fancy wheels took us all over Southern California while we were there on vacation visiting my husband's parents. (You can read our Southern California Vacation post here.)

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Last week we took the whole family on vacation to California. We stayed with Steve's parents in Corona, in Riverside county. We have done this 18-hour drive before, and were pretty happy that we decided to fly this time!

Saturday, August 1, 2015

The flamingo trend is still hot, hot, hot, just like our weather! If you find your wardrobe is lacking in flamingo themed prints, then here's your chance to pick something before this summer is gone for good. I've found flamingo shirts, flamingo skirts, flamingo jewelry, and even flamingo shoes! Click the source links below to get details on these outfits.

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Stephanie Paxman is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. (When you purchase something from a link, your cost doesn't change but I earn a small commission which helps keep this site running. Thank you!)